Coteaching Part I

Name: Lauren Gilman

Date: October 13, 2014

How does this project contribute to your understanding of coteaching?

This project contributed to my understanding of coteaching by putting me in
the position to create a coteaching routine. Its one thing to learn what
coteaching is and the different types of coteaching, but its another thing to
actually experience it and actually use it. I didnt know whether I would enjoy
coteaching or not, but Ive learned to use it as a resource. I admire working
with my mentor teacher before class and during class. She teaches me an
abundance of tools to use in the classroom. This project opened my eyes on
how much communication needs to be done in order to produce an effective
coteaching lesson. I understand now, what steps need to be taken in order to
create a coteaching lesson.

Entry in classroom:

Entering Ms. Ss 2nd Grade classroom, I was a little bit nervous; I

had never observed in an actual classroom other than my mothers
classroom. I did not know if my mentor teacher was going to be warm
and welcoming or not in a good mood. Luckily, I think I am in the best
classroom with the best mentor teacher! As I walked in, Ms. S greeted
me at the door with a huge smile on her face and seemed very excited
to have me in her classroom. She told me a little bit about herself and I
told her about myself. I was immediately told that I would be given
multiple opportunities to teach and coteach in her classroom. I was so
relieved hearing this because I was scared that she would only let me
teach when I was being observed. She showed me my desk and told
me I could use any of the resources she has in her classroom. I was
given a 2nd grade Reading textbook and workbook as a resource for my
future lessons. She also showed me around the school; where the 2nd
grade closet is, where the teachers lounge is, and where the
workrooms are. Ms. S showed me how to use the copier, laminator, and
the tool to punch out shapes in paper. I was shown some of the best
resources for my future knowledge. In her classroom, Ms. S went over
where she taught lessons and explained some routines that she uses;
For example, transition routines, morning rituals, afternoon rituals, and
bathroom routines. This helped me when we were coteaching the next
few weeks. Throughout the first day, I mainly observed while Ms. S

taught. I also monitored during independent work and helped students

who had questions.
Ms. S has back problems, which is a barrier for coteaching. Her
inabilities to get up and sit down a lot, or stand for too long are things
we must work around while coteaching. Also, the classroom is very
busy and there is a lot of furniture. Because of this, it is hard to
maneuver around the classroom without bumping into people or
furniture. We have to make sure to take separate paths while were
both walking around the classroom. Another barrier would be the
amount of time we have to coteach. We have multiple lessons to teach
and only a couple hours to teach them. I have noticed that we usually
do not get through all of the lessons we plan on. We try to use our time
to our best advantage, but it is something we are working on together.

Communication with Mentor Teacher:

In my opinion, Ms. S and Is communication is very good. On the

first day, she gave me her cell phone number so if I have any questions
I can text her and she can text me. The second week, she texted me
on Monday and asked if I could come in early to go over the weeks
lessons. I really appreciated that she wanted to go over the lessons
early on, rather than just throwing me in without me knowing what is
going on. Every morning we go over the days lessons and what is
coming up for the next class that I am there. During her conference

hour, we talk a little bit more about the lessons to make sure I am
prepared. We also talk about how we are going to coteach. Ms. S
makes coteaching really easy. I cant really think of any communication
barriers because she is always there if I have a question and makes me
feel comfortable with communicating with her. We made sure to have a
very open communication so we do not have any barriers to
experience. Ive learned a lot from Ms. Schwertner already.

Types of Coteaching:

There are six different kinds of coteaching; teach-observe, teachsupport, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, and
team teaching. Teach-observe coteaching is when one teacher is
teaching the lesson while the other one is observing to either gather
information or to give specific feedback. This form is usually done
when one teacher is still starting out and getting the hang of
everything. One positive about teach-observe is that it helps the
observing teacher see how the leading teacher teaches his or her
lessons and how he or she follows certain routines. Another positive
would be that there are no physical barriers to worry about because
the observing teacher is not in the way as the leading teaching teaches
and is not a distractor to the students. A negative is that the observing
teacher does not get to practice teaching. Also, when the observer
isnt doing any teaching, his or her expertise is not being used.

Teach-support style of coteaching is when one teacher teaches

the lesson and the other teacher supports struggling students or
students who need more instruction. This usually occurs when teachers
are trying to figure out how a student or students learn best. A positive
about this style is that it lets one teacher teach a lesson while the
other can help others so the whole class getting behind because of one
or a few students. Another positive is that the students are more likely
to stay on task because of the other teacher drifting around the
classroom and monitoring the students. A negative is that the teachers
could have different approaches to the lesson so students may get
confused when seeking more instruction. Additionally, one teacher can
be seen as a bad cop when making sure every student stays on task.
Station teaching is when the content is split up into different
stations and taught by different teachers. The students rotate stations
one after the other or the stations rotate to them so they can stay in
the same seat. A positive of station teaching is that the student to
teacher ratio decreases, so the students have a more specific
instruction. Also, station teaching usually keeps the students engaged
because theyre not thrown all of the content all at once. A negative is
that the stations have to be specifically thought out for timing in order
for one group not to excel faster than the others or to prevent one
group from not being able to finish. They should all take relatively the
same amount of time to complete. Also, teachers have to rely on the

students to manage the station and not be distracted while working

with others.
The next style of coteaching is parallel teaching. Parallel teaching
is when the instruction is jointly planned by both teachers but
delivered separately in two different groups at the same time. One
positive is that the students are in smaller groups, consequently, they
then receive a smaller, differentiated instruction. This style is a helpful
to practice content, to review content, or to complete projects because
students are well monitored and stay engaged. It is not a good idea to
teach using this style for new content because it is essential for
students to receive the exact same instruction. Therefore, a negative is
that teachers must be proficient with timing when teaching the content
so one group doesnt get ahead of the other group. Also, this style
required teachers to be equally strong in the content that they are
teaching so one group does not get more information than the other.
Another style of teaching is Alternative Teaching. This style
happens when one teacher pulls out a student or a group of specific
students to pre-teach, reteach, or teach a specific focus. While one
teacher pulls out the student(s), the other provides a general activity
to the large group. A negative is that this style requires a clear
coordination and timing between the two teachers. Another negative is
that the larger group of students could be distracted when the
individual or group gets taken out of the class and they may wonder

why the students are being pulled out. A positive is that the student or
students who get pulled out, will probably come out of the instruction
feeling more confident about the content that they just addressed. If
he or she is struggling, they will be caught up with where the rest of
the class stands. Another plus is that students behaviors can be well
monitored while they are in the small group receiving differentiated
instruction.
The last style of coteaching is team teaching. This style starts
with the teachers planning and sharing the instruction. One teacher
could teach while the other one models or passes out content, or they
may demonstrate the concepts together. A negative is that the
teachers must have a strong sense of trust and commitment with one
another, without this, the lesson probably wont be as effective. The
teachers also must be very flexible and be able to change conditions,
and that might be hard to do. The students will attain the content from
two different people in this style, thus creating differentiated
instruction. This style helps the teachers out as well, because they can
take turns teaching rather than teaching a long lesson while students
are less likely to stay engaged.

Coteaching that will be used with Mentor Teacher:

During my time in Ms. Ss class, we will be using multiple styles

of coteaching. For this project, we will be using teach-support

coteaching. Ms. S and I determined this by looking over the content

and then deciding which what type of coteaching would be most
beneficial to the students. I will create a lesson plan with the resources
that Ms. S gave me, the textbook and workbook. Also, I will use the
smart board so that all the students will be able to see the content. Ms.
S can set up the smart board and then I will teach. During independent
work, both Ms. S and I will monitor the students and answer any
questions they have. If someone needs more instruction, Ms. S will take
him or her out into the hall to help. A barrier is that Ms. S will not be
able to stand for too long or be able to get up and down, so we will
have to adjust who monitors. Also, while we are monitoring, we have to
make sure not to take the same pathway so we dont bump into each
other.